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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAGUA 000554 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/02/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM NU
SUBJECT: CIVIL SOCIETY CALLS FOR ELECTORAL REFORM, 
GOVERNMENT CONTINUES INTRANSIGENCE 
 
REF: MANAGUA 203 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Robert J. Callahan, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary:  Nearly seven months after Nicaragua's 
fraudulent municipal elections, civil society continues to 
call on the Government of Nicaragua (GON) to address the 
fraud and restore people's confidence in the country's 
electoral system.  On May 28, over 100 civil society 
associations held a conference to publicly announce their 
proposal for electoral reform as a "way out of the country's 
political crisis."  On June 1, the local NGO Movimiento por 
Nicaragua (MpN) sponsored a forum to denounce the election 
fraud and subsequent violence.  These are but two of civil 
society's latest efforts to pressure the government to 
respond to the electoral fraud.  Unfortunately, the Ortega 
government holds tight to its intransigent position.  End 
Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Civil Society Proposes Electoral Reform 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On May 28, the Group for the Promotion of Electoral 
Reform (GPRE) held a conference to publicly roll-out and 
invite other organizations to sign the proposal for electoral 
reform.  (The GPRE comprises 15 civil society groups and is 
led by Nicaragua's two most prominent election observation 
groups - IPADE and Etica y Transparencia, EyT.  The group 
receives assistance through USAID.)  The proposal states that 
the citizens "have lost confidence in the electoral 
authorities and are being affected by the suspension of 
foreign assistance" and that "six months have passed since 
the elections and no national authority figure has begun a 
dialogue with the citizenry to address the political crisis" 
brought about by the electoral fraud.  As a result, the 
proposal calls for the resignation of all Supreme Electoral 
Council magistrates and new magistrates to work toward 
providing transparency and legitimacy to the November 2008 
municipal elections.  The proposal also calls for electoral 
reform that provides more independence to the electoral 
council, greater inclusion of political parties and citizens' 
groups in the electoral process, and greater transparency in 
the electoral results. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) At the conference members of the GPRE and other 
civil society organizations publicly stated their support for 
the proposal, called for government officials to address the 
citizenry's concern, and publicly signed the document. 
Groups signing the document included national-level NGOs, but 
also NGOs working solely in certain departments or 
municipalities.  There were two representatives from 
organizations from the departments of Leon and Chinandega, 
who represented over 15 civil society groups.  In their 
public statements, these representatives stated that their 
departments were being directly affected by the suspension of 
the Millennium Challenge Account, but believed the Ortega 
government was not interested in helping these people as it 
was not resolving the problem in order to maintain the 
assistance.  Other organizations signing the proposal 
included the Association of Nicaraguan Journalists, the 
United Teachers Union, National Coordinator for Transport, 
and the National Council of Evangelical Pastors. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Realizing the fear by some in Nicaraguan society 
that promoting electoral reform could lead to broader 
constitutional reform that benefits the ruling Sandinista 
National Liberation Front (FSLN) (reftel), Zuniga stated that 
the proposal is aimed at addressing the fraud and restoring 
people's confidence in the electoral system.  The proposal, 
he added, is not meant as a "stepping stone toward broader 
constitutional reform." 
 
----------------------------------------- 
Civil Society Continues to Denounce Fraud 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) On June 1 civil society continued to publicly 
denounce Nicaragua's fraudulent November 2008 municipal 
 
MANAGUA 00000554  002 OF 002 
 
 
elections. Movimiento por Nicaragua (MpN) held a forum in 
Managua, which gathered representatives of the media, NGOs 
and electoral observers, and opposition mayoral candidates 
believed to have won in their municipalities.  The consensus 
was clear across the board that a large number of municipal 
elections were characterized by fraud.  Specific examples of 
the fraud included 38% of polling booths being closed early, 
clear partisan actions in favor of the FSLN on the part of 
the electoral police (images were displayed of some 
brandishing nightsticks in an attempt to intimidate the 
opposition), and an inconsistent voter registration process 
that favored the governing FSLN. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The opposition mayoral candidates that made 
presentations at the forum represented the municipalities of 
Leon, Masaya, Corinto, Juigalpa, and Managua.  Each described 
the particularities of the fraud in his municipality, 
including some (like Corinto and Juigalpa) which the 
electoral authorities initially had declared winners.  Since 
the elections, these candidates have formed an association 
(the November 9 Group) and have continued to publicly 
denounce the election fraud and promoted transparency in 
local governments. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The various groups at the MpN forum described how 
the election fraud has negatively impacted the Nicaraguans' 
faith in the democratic process, noting many citizens would 
prefer to abstain in future elections.  MpN representatives 
noted this feeling of disenfranchisement among the citizens 
is dangerous for Nicaragua's democracy, and as such MpN and 
other NGOs remain committed to organizing the Nicaraguan 
people to peacefully demonstrate their concern. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶8.  (C) As Nicaraguan civil society noted, nearly seven 
months have passed since the fraudulent November 2008 
municipal elections and the Ortega government has shown no 
willingness to address the fraud nor the resulting "political 
crisis."  Rather, Ortega continues to defy national and 
international calls to resolve the issue, and he claims that 
Venezuelan assistance will fill the gap left by traditional 
donors who pull their assistance as a result of the 
elections.  While civil society continues (and will continue) 
to denounce the fraud and work to keep the citizens involved 
in the democratic process, no one believes the Ortega 
administration will be a partner in this endeavor. 
CALLAHAN